


just like that bear grylls guy

by babsaros



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Don't Try This At Home, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Keith hates sand, Major Character Injury, alien ocs - Freeform, allura and aru are just gals bein pals, broganes, don't turn deserts into rainforests overnight kids, giant desert rat cameo, hunk makes a callout post for shiro, it's coarse and rough and irritating and makes him feel alone, let allura have crushes on princesses 2k17, minor injury, team bonding and team bickering, the roadtrip episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-23 23:31:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13200921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babsaros/pseuds/babsaros
Summary: The team thinks they've caught a break when they land on a desert planet for some diplomatic negotiations. It's an oasis, and for once they all get to kick back and chill for a while. And then things get a little more complicated. But they can still handle this, right? A simple search for an ancient sacred artifact that was lost in the desert a thousand years ago and is the one thing this treaty's success hinges on is no biggie, right? Well, at least they have each other. (feat. alien pink lemonade, giant desert rats, and roadtrip jokes)





	just like that bear grylls guy

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my pieces for the Aphelion Zine! It was the first zine I had ever participated in and i went... so overboard yall. I lived like a goddamn raccoon until these were done. anyways, i'm v excited to finally unveil em, and i hope you like! You can find more about the Aphelion Zine here- https://aphelionzine.tumblr.com/

A whoosh of hot air blasted their faces as the door slid open.  
“Ugh, hot car smell,” Lance said, lifting a hand to shade his face from the sun. The other Paladins nodded without thinking, because everyone knows that hot car smell. They stared out across the desert, air rippling with heat. Already, sand had begun to shift and cover the bottom of the ramp. The wind whipped around their bodies as they descended, the sun quickly baking them in their armor.  
At the bottom of the ramp, a tent of black cloth was held aloft by royal servants. Among the many figures crowded inside, was Princess Aru, easily identifiable by her extravagant golden clothing and the giant poison glands on the sides of her head. The Breviceps very much resembled bipedal toads: warty green skin clothed in loose black tunics, fingers that ended in plump points, and eyes that bulged out of their heads. The Breviceps on the outskirts of the tent shuffled and eyed the burning hot sand warily, careful to stay in the shade.  
“Paladins of Voltron, Princess Allura, welcome! The Breviceps smile on your arrival.” The Princess stepped forward to the very edge of the tent, arms aloft. Despite the heat and the sun in her eyes, Allura managed a graceful smile as she reached the bottom of the ramp. The Paladins, on the other hand, weren’t doing so hot.  
“Princess Aru, we’re grateful for your hospitality. I look forward to our talks.”  
There was a muffled snort behind her, as Lance jabbed his elbow into Pidge’s ribs. It had become a running joke within the team that Allura had a crush on the other princess, because of the many video calls they had shared prior to this meeting. A joke that Allura had suspiciously not denied yet. She turned her head ever so slightly, and gestured toward the team. “These are the Pal—”  
“Princess!” shouted Coran, barrelling out of the ship and down the ramp with a bag that was bursting at the seams. He skidded to a stop next to Allura, and dug through the bag for a moment before pulling out a rather ugly hat and jamming it onto her head. “Bit hot out, eh?”  
There was a moment of silence and then Princess Aru giggled behind a brown hand. If one looked closely, one would see that Allura was blushing madly.  
“Er, this is my royal advisor, Coran.”  
“Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, at your service!” Coran took one of Aru’s webbed hands and shook it vigorously. When he released it, a string of mucus came away, which he wiped away on his shirt without hesitation. Allura stared down at this whole process with a frozen smile. The Paladins reached the bottom of the ramp, and traded amused looks.  
“Paladins! I’m honored to meet you!” Aru looked up from Coran’s shirt, mildly relieved to focus on something else.  
“Likewise, Princess Aru. We’ve heard many great things about the Breviceps. It’ll be nice to be among allies for once,” Shiro said as he settled a hand on Allura’s shoulder, nodding to Aru. With the proper greetings exchanged, everyone shuffled under the tent. The Castle had landed a short ways away from the Breviceps’ Oasis, calling for the small convoy. Even with just a handful of the Princess’ servants, guards, and advisors, it was cramped. Every step was a tiny shuffle. Each Brevicep carried a small device that periodically misted the holder with water. It was only the slightest bit annoying. The Paladins shot each other looks of exasperation over their shoulders. It was all Hunk and Lance could do not to break down laughing. 

All the while, Princess Aru spoke about her kingdom. The Breviceps occupied the closest planet to the sun of this system. Mostly, they dealt in tourism, being a rather small kingdom. They had no great armies or rare resources. Still, Voltron needed all the allies they could get. The entire planet was sand and heat, aside from the Oasis. Legend said that once, the planet had been more like a tropical rainforest, but there was no concrete evidence of that. For the most part, the Breviceps didn’t leave the Oasis. There was no reason to with the desert being a wasteland, and the Breviceps were not built for the dry heat. At this point, Hunk and Pidge had commandeered one of the misting devices and were examining it in hushed whispers. The Brevicep it belonged to looked on over their shoulders, rather perplexed.  
Eventually, the group reached the Oasis. It was a humongous white dome in the middle of the desert, where the sand turned into solid orange rock. The dome was supported by brilliant white pillars stretching a good thirty feet tall. The Paladins were welcomed with water and trays of oddly colored fruit. Coran took a whole tray for himself, eyes lighting up. Princess Aru and the other Breviceps that had accompanied her excused themselves to go freshen up, which apparently meant soaking in one of the huge bathing pools here at the Oasis. In the meantime, the team was told to make themselves at home, and that someone would be along to collect them soon.  
“I know you said it would be hot, but I’m dying, dude,” Lance said, popping off his helmet. His sweat-soaked hair clung to his brow. The other Paladins did the same, and debated stripping all of their armor off right there. Keith stared around, rolling his shoulder, a twinge of pain in his face.  
“You good?” Shiro asked.  
“Shoulder still hurts,” Keith replied absentmindedly.  
“Sorry about that,” Lance apologized for the millionth time after shooting Keith’s shoulder during a fight on a previous planet. He’d been put in a healing pod to speed up the recovery, but he was still working past some stiffness and occasional pain. Keith waved the apology off, wiping his brow. Pidge and Coran were working their way through the fruit platters when two servants arrived. The first led Shiro and Allura off to the diplomatic negotiations. The second led the rest of them deeper into the Oasis.  
Walking backwards to face the Paladins, she explained, “I am Bufo. I’m here to make sure you enjoy your stay. If you need anything at all, all you have to do is ask.” She spun on her heel to face forward, never breaking stride.  
“Our spas are the best in the system, as you’ve no doubt heard. They’re out of this world.” She recited the line like an unenthusiastic teenager working a summer job and it made Lance smile just a little to know that even this far from earth, there could be cheesy taglines like that. Bufo stopped in a doorway and stood to the side to allow them to enter. The room was large and mostly taken up by a shallow bathing pool in the middle of the floor. A skylight on the ceiling filtered the sun through pink glass, making the room glow. Around the pool were lounge chairs. They stepped into the room, taking in the intricate tiles on the floor. The room also held an abundance of green plants in baskets hanging from the ceiling.  
Trays of food and drinks were laid down on the small tables around the room by servants they didn’t realize had been called in. The group descended upon a tray laden with clear bottles of pink liquid.  
Lance screwed off a gray top and took a swig without hesitation. He immediately spluttered, trying to speak excitedly. “Pink lemonade!”  
Pidge sniffed at her drink, considering the color.  
“Really?” She looked at Hunk, who was taking a careful sip. Slowly, his eyes lit up too.  
“Just like the stuff back at—”  
“Phil’s Gyro House!” Lance finished the sentence.  
“Uh, who’s Phil?” Pidge asked, still contemplating her drink.  
“Oh man, it was this little hole in the wall we used to sneak out to a bunch because they were open crazy late,” Lance enthused.  
“They did homemade pink lemonade. It tasted just like this.” He traded grins with Lance. Pidge shrugged and took a sip.  
“Huh. It tastes exactly like pink lemonade.”  
Bufo had watched this interaction, mildly perplexed. Here, she shook her head, regaining composure. “I trust you’ll find all the other amenities to your liking as well then.” With that, she left the room, ushering all the servants out ahead of her.  
There was a beat after the door closed.  
“So, you guys snuck out a lot?” Keith asks, eyeing the pink drinks.  
“From the garrison, yeah. All the time. I was kind of a rebel. Ladies dig a bad boy.” Lance had plopped himself down in one of the lounge chairs close to the pool. He kicked back, crossing his feet.  
“There was this flower shop that was open really late sometimes—” Hunk started, setting his bottle down.  
Lance shot up, screeching. “Hunk!”  
“And that little arcade, too! He had the top scores for Dance Dance Revolution, and that one shooty game, with the little guns.”  
“That is true,” Lance acknowledged. “But bad boys do not sneak out to flower shops, Hunk.”  
Hunk raised his hands, as if conceding. As soon as Lance laid back down, he leaned toward Keith and Pidge. “The peace lilies reminded him of his mom,” he said, barely mumbling.  
Lance pretended he didn’t hear. Instead, he picked up a small potted plant from the table beside him. By now, the Paladins were no strangers when it came to odd flora. This one resembled some sort of succulent, but in a vibrant yellow color. The pot itself was nothing special, aside from the small gold chain with a few colorful beads strung on wrapped around it.  
“Ah, young rebellion.” Coran sighed, still carrying a fruit tray.  
Pidge plopped down in a lounge chair. “I’ll only listen to your story if you bring me that tray.” Coran knew she would listen no matter what, but he smiled and sat down beside her.  
“Adding to your collection?” Hunk asked Lance, nodding toward the chain. He was referring to the growing pile of souvenirs in Lance’s room. Lance tried to get something from every planet they visited, sometimes even in the middle of a firefight.  
“Yeah, I think so. Think they’ll miss it?” he replied, holding the pot up so the chain caught the light.  
“Nah. It’s nice though.”  
Hunk watched Lance fiddle with the chain, slowly wiggling it off the pot. It was just slightly too big to be a bracelet. Coran continued telling his story, something or other about sneaking around hidden corridors in the Castle. The sound of the water lapping at the edge of the pool made for a lazy afternoon vibe. 

 

When Aru had ushered her advisors from the room, Allura and Shiro had been on guard. They’d been making good progress with the treaty; it was basically a done deal at this point. So why the sudden interruption?  
Aru led them at a brisk pace through a series of hallways, each one dimmer and cooler than the last. It seemed like they were heading downward into the heart of the Oasis. Allura and Shiro took the stairs in sync, ready for anything, each bracing to shield the other. Reaching the landing at the bottom, Aru stood before a heavy stone door and turned to face them. “I hate to do this…” she croaked, the first words she’d spoken since they’d started walking. Allura and Shiro traded a glance. “But I need a favor.”  
She turned back to the door before they could reply, and with a soft rumble it slid open. Cautiously, they followed the princess into the room. Made of the same gray stone as the door, the walls of the room were carved into shelves and pillars. In the center there was a slab of stone acting as a table. From this room, there were several doorways that led to off-shooting rooms. Shiro tried to peer into one of these, but it was far too dark to make anything out. The only reason they could see anything at all was thanks to a small floating orb that shed a dim orange light and resided in the corner of the room.  
With her webbed fingers, Aru carefully pulled something down from a shelf and set it on the table behind her. The air down here was significantly cooler than the surface above. That and the eeriness of the situation sent goosebumps up and down Allura’s arms.  
“I apologize for all the secrecy, but my council would not approve. They don’t think the risk is worth it,” Aru explained, frustration creeping into her voice. “But… I had to take the chance. I had to show you this. If I didn’t ask, I would never be able to forgive myself.” With that, she took a deep breath, gesturing to the table. Curiosity getting the better of her, Allura stepped forward.

 

They’d spent a good hour or so in the room, nearly stuffed with fruit, and had their feet dangling over the pool’s surface when the door opened. Lance turned first, expecting Bufo and another platter of food. Instead, he was met with Allura and Shiro. Keith stood up beside him, taking a few steps away from the pool.  
“Hey, guys…” Shiro said, failing miserably to sound nonchalant.  
“What’s up?” Keith asked, suspicion cutting a hard edge in his voice. Pidge, Hunk, and Lance traded the same look they used to at the garrison, when a teacher was about to give them a pop quiz, or when they knew they were about to get in trouble for something. It was a patented look at this point.  
“Nothing! Everything’s fine, it’s just…” Allura tried to wave off Keith’s question, but looked to Shiro sheepishly.  
“Something’s come up. No big deal, just a little, uh, erand?.”  
“Aru needs a favor, and it might be a long shot, but we can at least try.”  
“If it’ll help the Breviceps, then we’ll do our best,” Hunk stated, looking to the others for affirmation.  
“Yeah, and if it helps Allura get closer with the princess,” Lance waggled his eyebrows, “then how could we possibly say no?” He flashed a shit-eating grin Allura’s way before standing up as well. Allura glared at him, but said nothing.  
“So… what’s the dealio?” Pidge asked, still sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from Coran.

Allura wasted no time in explaining the mission. According to ancient Brevicep records, the planet had once been abundant with life and water, resembling a rainforest more than a desert. Now, nobody could say for certain whether these records were true or not, but if they were, the source of the water was a trident. The Paladins collectively decided that if giant magic robot lions were real, then who was to say this trident wasn’t real as well? The records placed the trident a short distance from the Oasis. It was a rough estimate but it was the best Aru had to go on. She had brought up the trident to the her council several times, but was shot down in each attempt. For a Brevicep to trek into the desert, even a short way, could be devastating. Getting the trident could mean a world of possibility and maybe endless resources. So, the Paladins geared up. Each of them were given a small pack of white fabric filled with bottles of the pink liquid (which Lance had endearingly dubbed “Phil’s stuff”), small rations of food, first aid kits, and a few other odds and ends. They stared out at the sand, the air rippling with heat, as they prepared, trading grimaces and sighs. Allura did a poor job hiding how unenvious she was of the Paladins, smiling as she waved them off. 

 

They walked along a cliff’s edge, a vast canyon to their right. Shiro had already warned them all not to get too close to the edge, fearing someone would fall in. The desert was surprisingly calm, not another living being to be seen. Lance couldn’t help but be reminded of Earth, of his family’s trip to the Grand Canyon. Except the Grand Canyon had snow, and this planet looked like it hadn’t rained in decades. It would be serene, aside from the heat and—  
“Are we there yet?” Pidge asked in a mock whine. She and Lance elbowed each other as Shiro groaned. He was sure they were trying to drive him insane. They had only been walking a short while, but the heat was brutal. Shiro led the group, trying to keep a decent pace. Behind him, the Paladins chattered to pass the time. Lance had made it his personal mission to think of the hardest Would You Rather questions. Every so often he interrupted the conversation to ask one, sparking debates.  
“Wait, wait, okay! I’ve got one!” he exclaimed. The others stopped mid-sentence, looking to him as they walked. At the front, Shiro sighed half-heartedly.  
“Please don’t—” he tried.  
“Would you rather…” Lance waited for Pidge to strike up a drum-roll by beating her chest plate. Hunk cringed, sympathising with Shiro. Keith’s face was drawn in concentration. He was actually enjoying the game—maybe solely for the chance to argue, but still. “Be incredibly handsome but dumb, or super smart but ugly?”  
There was a beat as they digested the question.  
Hunk replied first. “Smart but ugly.”  
“Interesting. Pidge?”  
“I’m trying to decide which one you think you are.”  
Hunk laughed, rifling through his pack. “Obviously he’s—”  
“Obviously, I’m incredibly intelligent… and incredibly handsome.” Lance flourished a hand, gesturing to his face as he winked. Hunk nodded solemnly, pulling out his bottle of Phil’s Stuff and taking a swig.  
“Oh, yeah? Which one is Keith?”  
Lance squinted at her, rolling his eyes. “Incredibly dumb and ugly.”  
Before he even finished the sentence, Keith stuck his foot out to the side. Lance stumbled forward, nearly biffing it before he caught himself.  
Despite himself, the corner of Shiro’s mouth quirked up. “Keep it civil back there, guys.”

Any further attempts at conversation died quickly. They walked with their faces to the ground, occasionally wiping the sweat at the back of their necks. Hunk wondered if the healing pods would help with sunburn.  
Lance looked up suddenly, brows furrowed. “Would you rather—”  
“Pass.” Pidge grumbled, cutting him off. Lance wilted slightly, but he didn’t push it. Keith shook the last few drops out of his first bottle, before digging in his pack to find his spare. He almost twisted the top off, but hesitated and put it back in his pack, saving it. Just in case. Not paying attention to where he was walking, his toe caught the back of Lance’s heel. Lance stumbled forward again, coming much closer to eating shit this time around. He whirled around, glaring at Keith.  
“Hey, what the hell?”  
“It was an accident.”  
For a moment, Keith felt too tired to argue but Lance’s tone made him glare too. Something at the back of his mind told him he was an idiot.  
“Sure.” Lance nodded patronisingly. “Just watch where you’re going.”  
“How about you watch your mouth?” Keith growled, making the little voice in the back of his head tell him that he was gonna get punched and that it wouldn’t feel sorry for him.  
“How about you fuck off?” Lance shouted, taking a step toward Keith.  
“Look, would you just—”  
Shiro couldn’t stand the bickering anymore. “Guys!” His voice echoed down through the canyon as Shiro turned to intervene, but suddenly there was a rustle and a growl behind him. His heart stopped in his chest for a split second, and he froze.  
“Holy—” Pidge started, but she was cut off by a blood-curdling screech. Shiro turned back around.  
Standing in front of the group was a large—rat? It was easily twice his height. It had coarse, sparse brown fur, and its skin seemed to fade into scales in some places. Most intimidating were the claws, a good two feet long. Images of broken skin and blood flashed in his mind. He locked eyes with its beady black ones, hardly daring to breathe.  
Then the rat reared back on its hind legs, baring its teeth. Shiro saw it start to raise its claw, saw Pidge in the path of its intended swipe, and he just barely managed to push her out of the way. For a brief second, he was scared that he had pushed her too far and that she would go sliding over the edge of the cliff, but suddenly the ground beneath him was crumbling. There was no time to jump, nothing to grab onto; he was already falling. The last thing he saw was the rat going over the edge.

 

“Hunk? Hunk, come on.”  
Hunk opened his eyes to Shiro staring down at him. Something felt off.  
“Shiro. I can’t move.” His voice sounded slurred and foreign.  
“It’s gonna be all right. I need you to wake up for me, okay?” A hand squeezed his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes tight, blinking rapidly, trying to get them to focus. There was a weight pinning his hip, he could barely shift his legs. Reaching down clumsily, his hand met rock. Oh. “Hey, it’s fine. I’m gonna get you out from under there.”  
Hunk took a shaky breath. “Okay.”  
“You with me?” Shiro pressed his shoulder again. Hunk nodded, and the hand slipped away. He took a moment, getting his bearings. They were in a cave, that much was clear from the dim lighting and the rocky walls at least. The air was hot and dry. He was thirsty. There was something to drink in his pack— and then it all clicked. He remembered the rat, and then the rumble of the cliff as it fell. As he fell. Instinctively, he started measuring his breathing, trying to keep calm. His hand flew to his chest, fingers tracing a crack in the armor all the way down to the rock keeping him pinned.  
“Hunk,” Shiro spoke, snapping Hunk’s attention back to him. “I’m gonna lift the rock up so you can crawl out, okay?”  
There was a flicker of doubt at the back of his mind, but he crushed it down, and nodded again. Shiro turned away from him, and settled with his shoulder against the rock in the corner of Hunk’s vision. “On three. One… two…”  
Hunk braced his hands against the ground.  
“Three!” With a grunt, Shiro lifted the rock, just enough for Hunk to scramble backwards, dragging himself free. A heavy thud rumbled through the cave as Shiro dropped the rock again, chest heaving. He turned back to Hunk, looking him over. Shiro himself looked okay, if a little worse for wear. There was a cut on his forehead, dried blood that flaked away and mingled with the dust and sweat.  
“Your forehead…” Hunk gestured weakly. Shiro tilted his head ever so slightly before giving him a small smile and a dismissive chuckle.  
“Just a scratch. Come on,” he said, getting to his feet. “Can you stand?” He offered Hunk a hand. Hunk stared at it for a moment, processing the words before they suddenly made sense. He grabbed Shiro’s hand, heaving himself up. Or tried to, anyway. His vision went black and he tumbled forward into Shiro, lightheaded.  
“Whoa, hey.” Shiro guided him to a wall, and he leaned against it, letting his vision clear. Cautiously, he felt the back of his head, where it had suddenly started throbbing. He hissed in pain and his fingers came away ever so slightly covered in red. What had happened to his helmet?  
“Bad fall,” he mumbled. Shiro knitted his brow in concern.  
“Hold on.” He cast around for a moment, before slipping away from Hunk’s side. A second later he slipped back to the wall, tearing through his pack. Hunk suddenly noticed the absence of his own, and was grateful that at least one had survived the fall. They had been a burden before, but now they had supplies to help them out of this mess. Shiro pulled out the basic medkit they had packed. Nudging Hunk back down to a kneel, he set to work bandaging the wound. The cave was eerily quiet.  
“Doesn’t look too bad. I think you’ll be able to skip the healing pods, at any rate,” Shiro remarked, finishing up. “And, here.” He handed Hunk his bandana. At this point, it was definitely due for a wash. Hunk wrapped the orange fabric around his wrist, knotting it tightly. He stood again, slower this time, one hand guiding him up the wall. His head still pounded and he wanted nothing more than to lie down again.  
“We gotta find the others.”  
And with Shiro keeping one hand at Hunk’s elbow, they started walking.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Oasis, things were running as smoothly as ever. Allura was a little perturbed by the near constant mistings the Breviceps relished in, but it was nothing more than a little cultural barrier. In fact, after a while, she got used to it. Of course, having Princess Aru as a tour guide was more than a little comforting. Allura had been treated to a light meal after the Paladins embarked on their mission. Now, the two were sinking into mud baths. Lance often spoke about things like this from Earth, and of course Altea had its own versions of spas, but this was nice, in a weird sort of way. Allura took a slice of fruit off of her eyelid, peeking over at Aru.  
The Paladins could joke all they wanted. What was a little crush between princesses?  
Stifling a smile, Allura closed her eyes again, sinking deeper into the bath. For once, she hadn’t a care in the universe.

 

“Fucking sand… goddamn desert planet… Frogs? Why are there fucking frogs—” His tirade cut off as Lance crumpled to the ground with a hiss, hands flying to his ankle. The fall had been rough, to say the least. He’d woken up in a system of tunnels with a headache and an ankle that he could scarcely walk on. In the twenty minutes he’d been trying, he’d barely made it 40 feet from where he’d started. He’d also lost his pack, and there were no signs of any other Paladin. As far as Lance could tell, they’d all been tossed in separate directions in the fall. His only hope—and plan for that matter—was getting out of these tunnels, which wasn’t going well.  
The tunnels were dry as bone, but at least the sun wasn’t burning him to a crisp anymore. He’d feel a whole lot better if he could just find somebody else though. Being stranded down here made him feel like shit. He flinched, ankle throbbing. Yeah, it was definitely sprained, at the very least. Maybe a fracture. The sooner he got back to the others, the sooner he could get back to the Castle and get healed.  
He gritted his teeth and hauled himself back up, trying to keep his weight off his bad ankle. Gripping the wall on his bad side, he took a few grueling steps. Sweat dripped into his eyes. His head pounded. He took another step—and crumpled back to the ground, hands scraping down the wall.  
“Shit!” A string of strangled curses followed as he dug his nails into his leg. ‘All right, okay Lance, let’s just… chill. Let’s just chill for a sec, okay? The situation is crap, you have no tools and no way to get out of here, there’s nobody around, and you’re probably going to die of dehydration soon. But yeah, let’s just chill.” God, what he wouldn’t give for a helping hand right then. He wanted to take back everything he’d said on the cliff. Hell, even if Mullet—if Keith showed up right now, Lance would be so happy he might just kiss him. Jeez, okay, maybe he hit his head harder than he’d thought.  
“Okay, okay, no it’s fine. You’ve got this, dude. You’ve gotten out of tons of scrapes before, you can do this. You just need to… You just gotta…” He cast his eyes around for anything he could utilize. Maybe his pack had survived the fall, or maybe there was like a stick or a rock or… No. There was nothing. He was alone.  
“Hello?” he called out. “Come on, is there anybody there? Anybody?!” Silence.  
And then something, before the smell hit him.

 

Pidge wanted to curse every goddamn rock in this desert. The cliff gave out beneath her, and for one brief second, everything was still. She was weightless, staring down at the canyon, spiky rat in front of her, sun beating down above. And then she was falling.  
Unfortunately, it seemed like gravity had similar plans for Pidge and the rat. The way Shiro had thrown her out of the way had pushed her toward the cliff’s edge. She slammed into the rock slide, elbow thoroughly bruising. For what felt like eternity, she was tossed and tumbled about, having no control over which way she went. And then she was slamming into the ground, breath forced out of her lungs as she was none too gently deposited and slid across the floor of the canyon. Pidge gasped for breath, staring up at the brilliant blue sky. The canyon thundered around her, dust settling. Slowly, ever so slowly, she forced herself to sit up, feeling as if all of her bones were going to snap. Then she heard something else doing the same. A feeling of dread welled up in her stomach. Preparing to move, she turned her head, hardly daring to breathe. Staring back at her were those beady little eyes.  
“Fuck,” she hissed under her breath. Then, she bolted. Launching herself out of a crouch, she tore off across the canyon floor, barely keeping her balance between the rocky ground and her pack hanging off one shoulder. She heard the tumble and clatter of rocks and claws. There was a bone chilling screech from the rat. It sounded so close, yet she didn’t dare look back at it. Scanning the rocks for any escape route, she spotted a tiny hole. It’d be a tight fit, even for her. Still, it was her only shot. She put on a burst of speed, heart pounding and brows drawn in concentration.  
In the next instant, she took a running leap, scrambling up the rocks and squeezing down into the hole feet first. As she fell through, there was a whisper of claws at the back of her neck. She hit the ground hard, ankles absorbing the shock. She bent over wheezing, every muscle burning from abuse.  
And then there was a second screech, five feet above her. She spun around to look, taking a wary step back. A flash of claws and fur were all the hole gave her sight of. But the dust danced through the air with every shuddering hit the rocks took. This wall wasn’t going to last.  
It was going to get in. She paused only to wipe her brow and drink from her bottle. Then she turned on her heel, her only hope of getting away and meeting up with the others lying deeper in these tunnels. Pidge would never look at hamsters the same again.

 

For once, it seemed like luck was on Keith’s side. Well, aside from the whole falling off a cliff bit. He’d managed to come out of the fall with only a few scrapes and bruises. Even his pack had remained unscathed. Aside from a small dent in his helmet, and a tiny tear here or there in his suit, he was in working condition. So being alone shouldn’t make him so mad, right? There was a fury in his step as he trudged along, pack slung over one shoulder.  
He hadn’t bothered to shake the dust from his hair, and he ignored the flaky blood from the small cuts littering his body. His only thought was to move forward, to find the others. He wasn’t going to be alone in a desert again. He wasn’t going to be lost, and he was not going to lose them, and he would do whatever it took to find them. He moved forward with a purpose.  
Except… he was incredibly lost. Where should he go from here? How far was he from everybody else? How could he get back to the surface? If he stopped moving he’d have to face these questions and he just… didn’t have any answers. So he kept moving, stubbornness and outrage radiating from him, spurring him on. He tied his hair up as he walked, a sheen of sweat on the back of his neck as the sun beat down.  
Near as he could tell, he walked for 40 minutes, taking occasional sips from his bottle. He ended up finding a hole in the canyon wall, the entrance to a cave. He poked his head in, weighing his options. He could keep walking with the sun glaring on him, or he could duck into the tunnel and see where it led. Plus, he wouldn’t be toasting anymore. It was an easy choice really, and he headed in.

Keith liked to think he’d matured. And he had, at least a little. He didn’t run into a fight half-cocked half as often, and he was better at measuring his words in tense situations. But he was still so… naive? Juvenile? Raw? Maybe there wasn’t a right word for it. God, he was still just a kid. How the fuck did he end up out here? Life on Earth wasn’t any happier for him, but at least he wasn’t almost dying every day. But, then again… Keith felt like he was suited for this. That’s weird, he thought to himself. He usually wasn’t big on introspection but he was alone with only his thoughts. He’d stripped off some of his armor at this point, stuffing it into his pack. The caves were only slightly cooler than outside, and a hot breeze blew through. He walked for awhile with no sign of anyone else.  
He came to a fork in the tunnels, one path collapsed in on itself. He almost marched past without giving the pile of rocks a second glance, but something in the corner of his eye tugged at him. He twisted back to the collapsed path, scanning the rocks. There, wedged beneath it all and covered in a thin layer of dirt, was a pack. One that one of the Paladins was carrying earlier. Keith set his own down against the wall and dug the bag out with a bit of effort. It tugged free and he stumbled back, looking for any clue as to who had been carrying it. They’d all been given the same supplies but—  
Hanging off one of the straps was a small golden chain. Keith recognized it instantly, dread welling up in his stomach. Lance was nearby, or he had been. Lance might still be in these tunnels. Keith was going to find him. He had to. He just—he needed to. 

 

Allura and Aru were on their way to some treatment or other, chatting comfortably, Allura’s hair wrapped in a towel, when she heard a familiar voice.  
“Princess!” Coran called out across the hall. Allura smiled toward him, giving a small wave. He was being lead away by two servants but he continued to talk to her over their shoulders. His hair was slicked back, a towel around his neck and a bottle in one hand.  
He flashed a hand toward her, each nail painted a different shade of green, reminding her of the food goo he praised.  
Aru laughed behind a webbed hand beside her. “He’s rather eccentric.”  
“He’s the only family I have left,” Allura mused. And then she smiled, laughed, and shook her head. “He’s very eccentric.”

 

Keith had only a vague idea of what he was looking for in the caves but… this definitely didn’t fit the bill. He carried Lance’s pack in his hand as he walked. He had figured that his best bet of finding Lance was finding a way into the collapsed tunnel, but he’d had little luck until he spotted a small opening in the rocks, and dug it open. He’d walked along, hunched over from the low ceiling. It had taken a while for the tunnel to open up, and even longer for him to realize it smelled like cardboard. The whole cave had that musty smell to it. Keith was suddenly reminded of Lance’s first words when they had touched down.  
Keith felt more than anxious. He felt helpless, even as he spurred himself to walk faster. The chain on Lance’s pack clinked with each step, like a ticking clock.  
He almost didn’t realize the smell of cardboard was getting stronger. By the time he had, he was nearly lightheaded from breathing it in. Part of him considered turning back, getting out of this nauseating air. But curiosity got the better of him. Impulse always won him over. He just—He couldn’t help himself. He had to know what was in these caves.  
He rounded a bend in the tunnel and slowed in his tracks. Only a few yards ahead was a puddle. It looked like tar. There was no sign of where it could have bubbled up from, though. Keith took a few cautious steps forward—and was nearly knocked back by the smell. Keith took a moment and swallowed hard. He could hardly believe a puddle this small could cause such a strong smell—actually, he didn’t believe it. Covering his nose, he looked forward to where the tunnel wound into another curve and out of sight. He skirted around the puddle, eyeing it suspiciously because he could swear he saw it move, and walked on.  
The sight around that next bend was more than enough to make him sick, smell or not. Heaving before him, much larger than that first puddle was—fuck, it could only be described as a pudding cup come to life. The surface was shiny and black, bubbles occasionally forcing their way to the surface. Keith hardly dared to breath, the smell was so intense. The dim light filtering through the tunnel and the small lights on his armor combined to make the scene positively eerie. And then Keith saw the hand. The black fabric covering it almost disappeared against the—the tar. In fact… In fact, it was being swallowed into it. Oh. Keith’s heart jumped into his throat, because suddenly, it all clicked. Throwing both packs to the ground, he propelled himself forward, toward the tar that was without a doubt, covering a body. The hand slipped further in, fingers still clawing at the air.  
Keith skidded to his knees, forgetting the smell, and grabbed hold of it. He tugged, adrenaline flooding his system. Forgetting himself, he braced his other hand against the tar, mildly alarmed when it started sucking him in as well. He pulled his hand away, and started to tear at the tar. The tar gooped back together, but slowly enough that it didn’t manage to halt his progress. After a frenzied moment, he was suddenly revealing an arm, the hand desperately grasping at his armor, and then a face, desperately gasping for air.  
“Lance! Lance hold on, okay? Hold on!” Clumsily, Lance helped Keith to pull away the tar, sobbing and heaving with every lungful of air. As they worked, the tar started to retreat, piling itself up further and further away until at last, Lance was kicking away the last small puddle that remained. He remained breathless, hysterical, shaking as he begged Keith to “get it off.” Keith did the best he could, blanking on anything to say. And then, and then Lance was latching onto him, face buried in Keith’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s all right.”  
“I didn’t want to die,” came the small reply, Lance’s body still trembling.  
They sat like that for a minute or two. Long enough that the adrenaline faded, and so did the smell. When they finally released each other, the tar was nowhere to be seen, and the small spots of it still left on Lance’s suit dripped off like water. Keith shifted away slightly, suddenly feeling awkward. Lance rested his head in his hands, shoulders shaking. Keith was alarmed at first, but even more so when he realised Lance was laughing.  
“Wha—”  
“I almost got smothered by some mud that smells like grandmas.”  
“You—You almost got smothered!”  
Lance took a shuddering breath, staring at the ground. “Almost is… the key word, I guess.” There was a pause, the cave deathly quiet.  
Keith shook his head. “Okay.” He stood , offering Lance a hand.  
Lance looked up at him, finally. “Okay?”  
“Okay, let’s go.” Keith said, jerking his head down the tunnel.  
“Yea—oh. I can’t” Lance looked almost apologetic. “My ankle. I can’t walk on it. I think—when I fell, I dunno. It’s bad.”  
“Oh.”  
“Yeah.” Another pause, and was it just Keith or was there a sudden chill in the air? Though, that might have been the cold sweat soaking his back.  
Keith walked back, retrieving their packs as he talked. “All right, I’m not leaving you here to be dissolved by…”  
“Granny?” Lance offered, with a quirk to the corner of his mouth.  
“Dissolved by Granny.” Having Lance back is proving to be more comforting than he expected. He crouched next to Lance, digging inside his pack. Lance reached past him, grabbing up his own pack and fidgeting with the golden chain. Finding his first aid kit, Keith turned to Lance’s leg. He was no doctor, but it shouldn’t be too hard to set the ankle in some sort of splint. Lance watched his movements with narrowed eyes, reminding Keith of a wounded animal. “Uh, this’ll probably hurt,” He warned.  
Lance grimaced. “Cool.”  
It only took a few minutes, and Keith was as gentle as he could be. Still, he didn’t miss the way Lance tensed up and clenched his fist so hard it shook.  
“How does that feel?” A dumb question, Keith realized as soon as it left his mouth.  
“Peachy.”  
“You can lean on me. We’ll manage.” He stood and offered Lance his hand again. Lance swallowed hard. He didn’t want to lose it again, didn’t want to be the one needing rescuing. So he nodded, and gave one of those wry smiles he practiced in the mirror back home. Keith hauled him to his feet, and he barely stifled a cry of pain as he stumbled forward. But then there was a hand wrapping his arm around Keith’s neck, and Keith’s arm wrapping around his back, and he was steadied. He could manage with this. 

 

Hunk seemed better. He stumbled sometimes, but Shiro was always there to catch him by the elbow. Whenever that happened, Shiro tentatively asked how he was doing, but Hunk always shrugged it off with a smile. The shock and dizziness from earlier seemed nearly gone, and if it wasn’t, Hunk was hiding it well. They were making a good pace, even with the low ceiling and the uneven ground. Shiro’s biggest concern was staying hydrated. They wouldn’t be able to help anyone if they couldn’t keep themselves upright. Luckily, the one bottle they had between them seemed to be lasting. Okay, well maybe Shiro was drinking a little less than he should but… everything seemed… okay, at least.  
“Did you think we’d find the trident?” he asked Hunk, trying to make the time go faster. Hunk hesitated, one hand on the wall as he walked.  
“Stranger things have happened. I meant what I said anyways.”  
“Hmm?”  
“That it was worth it to help them, no matter what. Like, back on the Balmera…”  
Shiro didn’t prompt him, simply waiting for Hunk to continue. “There was just this moment when… when, I dunno, the whole Paladin thing made sense. Where it all finally clicked and I realized why we have to be out here.” Shiro looked over at him and Hunk met his eyes, smiling. “Defenders of the universe, dude.”  
Shiro was quiet for a moment, mulling over the words, a fond smile on his face. “No matter what?”  
“Well, yeah. It sucks and it’s unfair… but, you know, we can’t just do nothing. That whole ‘break a few eggs to make an omelet’ thing.”  
“And we’re the eggs.”  
Hunk sighed. “And we’re the eggs.”

“Oh, Lance was great with all the written tests. I mean, believe it or not, he studied his ass off most of the time.”  
“That’s… surprising.”  
“Yeah, it’s just—When it came to the actual simulations, the dude always bombed. I dunno if it was nerves or hubris or what, but… I don’t think we ever passed a single one. Not that it was always his fault.” Hunk ended with a shrug of his shoulders.  
“Really?” Shiro had been listening to Hunk talk about the Garrison for a little over twenty minutes as they walked. It was calming, a distraction from the beads of sweat rolling down his neck. Not to mention it seemed to be keeping Hunk steady as well. Apparently, he loved to gesture.  
“Well, engineer stuff I’m great at. It’s just… the motion sickness.” Shiro nodded, remembering a few key incidents in the Lions. “Puking in the main gearbox doesn’t really get full marks. Pidge was never very cooperative either.”  
“Don’t even get her started on the Garrison,” Shiro said with a chuckle.  
“Garrison wasn’t all bad, though. Some of the professors were cool. And, Lance thought you were a god. He had that one poster of you looking off into the distance, all cool and heroic—”  
“God, not that one,” Shiro groaned.  
“Oh yeah, he snatched it down from the cafeteria wall. Had it hung over his bunk. You were his hero.“ Hunk paused before asking, in a casual tone, “Permission to speak freely, Captain?”  
Shiro snorted. “Permission granted.”  
“You’re kind of an ass sometimes.” Okay, Shiro wasn’t expecting that, especially not from Hunk. He looked up, almost losing his footing. Hunk raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I mean—like, you’re just the senior officer or whatever, and it’s like… sometimes you really act like it, you know?” Shiro knew what the Garrison was like. The senior officers could be—well, Shiro wasn’t that bad right? Hunk must have seen the look on his face, because he continued on. “It’s just that sometimes you don’t stop to consider if your call is the right call, or sometimes you just don’t listen, or you, uh, you maybe… well I don’t want to say favoritism but—”  
“Wait, you guys think I have favorites?” Shiro exclaimed, stopping in his tracks. Hunk ducked his head. “Why—Who? I don’t—” Shiro furrowed his brow, at a loss.  
“Shiro, dude, it’s okay. We all know you’re like a brother or whatever to Keith. And, you were really close with the Holts, so, like, we all get it. It’s just… You… don’t get it.” Hunk continued along as he talked, before stopping to look back at Shiro. “I know you don’t do it on purpose—”  
“I… value every single one of you. If I lost any of you, I-I don’t know what I would do. The fact that you think I have favorites—I’m sorry. I’m sorry, then. Because that means I haven’t been doing my job as your leader. Or, as your friend. I mean, Keith and I are family, but—Out here, we’re all family. And, I’m sorry if I haven’t shown that.” Hunk didn’t reply at first; he seemed almost stunned. Slowly, he nodded. And then that soft smile spread across his face, and he shook his head.  
“You’d die a million times over if it meant keeping us safe, huh?” And Shiro has never thought he’d hear Hunk say “die” so casually. It was all he could do to nod and smile back.

 

Aru noticed the far-off look in Allura’s eye, the way she kept looking toward the windows. It wasn’t boredom, or fear. No, it was…  
“Are you worried about them?” she asked. Allura came back to the conversation with a start. Considered the question. Considered the dying light.  
“The Paladins? I don’t know. I just have… a feeling, I suppose.”  
“If they’re not back by dark… I can send someone. It’s cooler at night.” Aru offered. Allura smiled.  
“We’ll see then.” There was a few more hours to waste. What was the worst that could happen to the Paladins out there? The Lion Goddess had faith in them.

 

Keith grimaced, suppressing a groan as another wave of pain dug through his shoulder.  
“What was that?” Lance asked with a smile in his voice.  
Keith grit his teeth and growled, “Nothing.” There was a beat, and Keith hoped Lance had dropped the subject. They’d been walking in perfectly good silence so far, and Keith would hate to ruin that.  
“Is it your shoulder?” The smile is gone from Lance’s voice. Keith huffed.  
“No.”  
“Hey—” Lance started, but Keith cut him off.  
“If you apologize for that again, I’m going to—”  
“No, asshole. I was gonna say the tunnel is getting lighter.”  
“Oh.” The tunnels had grown steadily darker as they had walked, until they were walking in complete darkness. It had been unnerving at first, but his shoulder had started to ache and Keith hadn’t paid the dark any more mind. Now though, he realized Lance was right. He could vaguely make out the shape of the cave. The ceiling was much lower than he had thought. He looked to his right, just barely able to see Lance’s form.  
They walked on, minutes passing and the tunnel gradually growing brighter.  
“Look,” Lance suddenly spoke, and Keith looked to where he jerked his head. On the wall ahead of them was a tiny pinprick of light. Keith squinted at it as they walked past.  
“Was that a… mushroom?”  
“And another one.” This one seemed slightly bigger, giving off more light. Definitely a mushroom. Definitely growing out of a cave wall. Although, not the weirdest thing he’d ever seen.  
As they walked further, the mushrooms appeared more often: closer together, bigger, and brighter. They rounded a bend in the tunnel and suddenly the cave was awash with bright blue light.  
“Hey, let’s stop for a second.” Keith looked over at Lance, seeing his face for the first time in twenty minutes. There was a sheen of sweat on his temple, and he was clearly struggling with the pain in his ankle, even if he wasn’t walking on it.  
“Yeah, okay. Here,” Keith led him to the wall, sitting him down on a small rock. A break would do them both good. He rolled his shoulder, massaging it with the heel of his opposite hand. Trying to ignore the twinges of pain, he examined the wall of mushrooms.  
“‘S pretty,” Lance commented.  
“Yeah. Dunno. Kinda weird.” Keith turned back to Lance, pulling a bottle from one of their packs and handing it down. “Hey. What was that last would-you-rather question you were gonna ask? I kind of liked those.”  
Lance took a swig from the bottle before wiping his mouth and handing it back to Keith. “Uh, would you rather be a reverse-centaur, or a reverse-mermaid?”  
“What the fuck is a reverse—”  
“You know, where the animal half is the top half!” Lance laughed.  
“What the fuck? What the hell?”  
“I know, this is a really good one.” He grinned and waited for Keith’s answer. “Well?”  
Keith sighed, rubbing his neck.  
“Reverse-centaur. ‘Cause then you can still walk on land. I don’t want to have to live underwater for the rest of my life.” He extended a hand down to Lance.  
“Dude. Always choose mermaid. Always.” With that, Lance let Keith haul him up again.  
“You good to go?” Keith asked, nodding toward Lance’s ankle. Lance rolled it around slightly, with only a small wince.  
“I’ll survive. Just like that Bear Grylls guy.”  
“Unfortunately,” Keith joked.

Keith almost didn’t notice the way the tunnel had started climbing upward. It was a shallow slope, but still his calves had begun to complain. The ground was rockier, and it was harder to keep footing. More noticeably though, was the new heat. Long past the glowing mushrooms, they had been again walking in near dark. Every breath was a lungful of dusty, hot air. Lance quietly panted beside Keith. At this point, they were both spent.  
It was perfect timing then, the way the tunnel started to open up and get brighter. Keith had been staring at the ground for most of the walk, trying to watch his step, but he looked up at Lance’s voice. They had just rounded another bend, the tunnel twisting and branching off every so often.  
“Is that… Is that a hole?” Lance breathed, staring straight ahead. Sure enough, there was a light in front of them.  
Keith chuckled, exhausted as he was. “Finally.”  
The last leg of the walk was the hardest. The tunnel curved up steeply, turning into a climb of uneven rocks. Keith helped to haul Lance up, who had to stifle a cry everytime the rocks slipped under him. And then they were out.  
Keith sat at the mouth of the cave, legs still half-in as he laid down. He couldn’t quite say he was happy to see the sun again, but he was happy to be out of the tunnels. Lance sat up beside him, surveying the land and trying to gather their bearings. They’d somehow made it to an end in the canyon and now they sat on the cliff’s edge again.  
“Drink.” Lance nearly startled at Keith’s voice, but took the bottle from his hand. “The sun’s almost down.” Sure enough, the sun was getting ready to dip behind the horizon, turning the sky around it a vibrant orange.  
“If we’re out here after dark…” Lance trailed off, not wanting to finish that particular sentence. Keith forced himself to stand. He wanted so badly to just be finished with this whole… expedition.  
“We have to keep moving while there’s still light. After sundown, our chances of finding anyone else will go down.” He hated to say it, hated to force them to keep going, but it was the truth. “We’ve got an hour, maybe two.” Lance rubbed his face, nodding. Keith extended a hand down and pulled him up, familiar with the movement by now. Lance passed the bottle back to him. It was maybe a quarter full at this point, and the second one they had gone through. Keith stuffed it into a pack, on top of their last spare. He could only hope that they wouldn’t run out before they got back to civilisation. Keith knew how brutal the desert could be, and if the others had run out as well, they would be in a tight spot.  
So they set out. The cliff was shaped like a U, the canyon looping back on itself. They planned to walk the edge to the opposite side and figure it out from there. They only made it a few paces before Keith looked up.  
“Lance. Lance, look.” Keith was half-convinced it was a mirage, but he had to be sure.  
“Oh my god.” It wasn’t a mirage. Walking on the cliff's edge on the opposite side of the canyon were two figures. They looked dusty and exhausted but their armor glinted in the sun like some kind of sign from the heavens. “Hunk!” Lance shouted, nearly lunging. Keith picked up his pace to keep Lance from hurting himself. “Hunk, Shiro!” Lance laughed, gleeful and relieved. The two figures looked up, and waved. Suddenly they were all running, and a laugh bubbled out of Keith’s chest.  
They met in the middle. This time, Lance did lunge away from Keith, hobbling the few steps until Hunk swooped him up in a spinning hug. He went to set Lance down, only to be met with a cry of “ow, ow, ow, ankle!” Instead, Lance leaned against Hunk, though not as balanced as he was with Keith. Shiro caught up, and Keith was about to ask him if he was okay, noticing the way he wavered on his feet, but the scene was interrupted by a clatter of rocks. They froze, fearing another landslide.  
What clambered up the edge of the cliff was arguably worse. With an unholy screech, the giant rat launched itself over the edge, sending clouds of dust up as it scrabbled to gain footing and reared up on its hind legs. There was a terrifying moment where time stood still and the rat examined them. And then it dropped back down.  
“Hey guys.” Nearly hidden beneath the coarse strands of hair, Pidge sat atop the rat. She gave them a little wave.  
“Pidge?” Lance uttered.  
“How the fuck—” Keith started but the rat started to chatter, and he took a step back.  
“Oh, you stop that.” Pidge put her hands on her hips as she scolded the rat. Then she leaned forward, scratching it vigorously behind the ear. “You big baby.”  
The rat responded by raising its head for Pidge to scratch harder.  
“Hey Pidge, nice to see you again, uh, and the rat too?” Hunk gestured to the rat, who leaned forward to sniff loudly in his direction. Pidge sighed and maneuvered herself to slide off the rat, dropping to the ground with a thud.  
“Her name is Sojourner and she’s not that bad. She was just protecting her nest.”  
“Her… nest?”  
“Look, it’s a long story. You guys can sit here and keep asking questions or we can—” Pidge was cut off by the sound of Shiro crumpling to the ground. Keith and Pidge were at his side in an instant. Lance was very gently deposited to lean against Sojourner before Hunk rushed over too.  
“Hunk, what happened to him?” Pidge demanded. Hunk shrugged at her.  
“I dunno, dude! I’m the one with the concussion.”  
“He’s got heat exhaustion,” Keith declared, more than familiar with the symptoms. Shiro’s skin was cool to the touch, even though Keith felt the sun burning him.  
“What do we do?”  
“What can we do?” Pidge muttered.  
“We need to get him somewhere cool. Getting back to the Oasis could take hours though.” Keith knelt on one knee.  
“Hey, guys?” Lance called out, trying to ignore Sojourners beady eyes.  
“How many bottles of that stuff do we have left between us all?” Keith slung the two packs off his shoulder, pulling out what he had left. Pidge pulled her last bottle out as well, as Hunk gently took the pack Shiro was carrying off his back. They only had one bottle as well, and it was already open.  
“Guys?” Lance tried again. Hunk turned back to him. Lance stood, one arm tentatively braced against Sojourner, his bad foot gingerly touching the ground, and one arm extended, pointing off into the distance behind them. Hunk followed his finger, squinting. For a moment, Lance was worried this one really was a mirage. But then Hunk’s eyes widened and he grabbed hold of Pidge’s shoulder, pointing too.  
“What? What is it?” Pidge asked, fixing her glasses and looking past Keith to where they were both pointing. “Oh.”  
“What?” Keith turned to see what they were all looking at. There, maybe fifty yards from them. “An oasis,” he breathed.  
Pidge shouted, triumphant and clambered to her feet. “An oasis!”  
Sojourner chattered again, sniffing at Lance’s head.

 

Shiro woke up slowly. His whole body ached, and he felt like he could sleep for a couple years. He laid there, hands on his stomach, letting the world fill in around him. He opened heavy eyes, and found himself in a dark patch of shade. There was a cool breeze blowing over him. Aways from him, he could hear voices and the splash of water. Eventually he realized it was the other Paladins. As he listened to them, whooping and laughing, a content smile spread across his face. Keith yelled out something, cut off by a large splash. Pidge was laughing. They all sounded happy. They were all safe. Shiro started to doze off again.  
“Lance! Put the trident down!” someone shouted, half-warning, half-laughing.  
Shiro’s eyes snapped open again. 

 

The Paladins made it back to the Oasis just as the sun finally set. They were sweaty, and tired, but they were all smiling. Allura beamed when she saw them, her heart flooding with relief and pride. Because here they were, alive and triumphant. Lance stepped forward, bowing in front of Aru.  
“Princess.” He took a deep breath. “I believe this belongs to you.” With that, he held the trident out before him, offering it to her. She set a hand on his shoulder and bowed her head.  
“Thank you.” She took the trident from his hands, marveling at it. Lance snuck a glance at Allura, winking to her. She fixed him with a disapproving stare, before shaking her head with a small smile. Lance turned to step back, but stopped.  
“Oh, uh, Princess? Word of advice: take it slow at first. That thing packs one heck of a punch, you know—” Hunk stepped forward, hauling Lance backward by the back of his suit. Aru laughed behind her hand, cradling the trident in the crook of her arm.  
“Paladins. I’m forever grateful for the service you’ve done my people today. We agree to your treaty, promising to come to your aid should you ever call on us.” Here she paused, looking to her advisors. One by one, they all nodded. Aru took the trident in her hands again, looking down at it. After a moment, she nodded to herself. Slowly, she raised it high into the air and then lowered it again, touching the prongs to the floor. The Paladins held their breath, waiting. And then they heard it. Thunder boomed from above, the air suddenly flooded with the smell of rain. Where the first few drops hit the ground, the sand turned to rock, and then dirt, and then grass. Full trees sprouted, crawling with vines as they grew into a thick canopy.  
After a few minutes, the planet was green for as far as they could see. The air was humid, but cooler now. The night was hushed, aside from the rain still softly pattering overhead.  
The celebration was quiet. It was late, and the Paladins were tired, but they couldn’t leave just yet. Aru would have her full celebration the next day. For now, they were all content to sit together in lounge chairs, eating and drinking and laughing. Even Bufo made a reappearance, and Lance taught her a secret handshake she thought was cheesy but liked anyway. Coran entertained them all with an absurd anecdote. No one said anything but they all traded knowing smiles when Allura rested her hand on Aru’s. Eventually, the time came to say goodbye, late in the night. Aru walked them all back to the Castle.  
The Paladins walked up the ramp, giving Allura one last moment alone with Aru.  
“Are we gonna talk about the devastating ecological impact magic tridents have? ’Cause we should,” Pidge pointed out. Lance swooped in beside her and pulled her in for a noogie. He wore a loose golden chain on his wrist.  
“Don’t be such a nerd.”  
Pidge elbowed him away. “I am going to miss Sojourner.” The others traded looks over her head.

The planet is green and grey from above.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading! If you did, please please consider leaving a comment (it would seriously make my day) and go check out some of my other works (like my other zine piece "tut tut looks like rain") have a good day!!


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